It happens every spring. A scrappy young player walks into big league
camp as a relative unknown to the general masses. While the veterans
greet each other with big smiles, the newcomer has to introduce himself
to pretty much everyone. Initially, the sportswriters ignore him and
concentrate on the more established players made available by the team’s
PR department. But when the preseason games begin, and when the new kid
steps into the batter’s box, the attention is his. And he capitalizes.

The next day, he finds his name in the sports sections of numerous
newspapers. Do this a few more times and the fan base begins to get
excited. He continues to succeed throughout the month of March to the
point where he improbably cracks the big league roster. By now, the fans
know who he is. He’s the new guy who batted over .400 or had an ERA
below 2 throughout the exhibition games. And the first time he comes out
of that home dugout for his first appearance of the regular season, he
gets an ovation from the crowd that’s usually reserved for the star
players.

That description applied to Angel Pagan back in 2008. Carter seems to be mustering that enthusiasm now.

Right now, you have to like Carter's chances to stay in the conversation about the Mets' bench spots on Opening Day. And just like Angel Pagan once upon a time, our newest Spring Training Superstar may surprise us by sticking around for more than a cup of coffee.------